Buckle



March 7,1939. R SANFORD 2,149,364

BUCKLE Filed Oct. 8, 1957 Patented Mar. 7, 1939 g STATES PATENT OFFICE Application October 8, 1937, Serial No. 167,916

11 Claims. (01. 2457s) This invention relatesxto abuckle and has Since the prongs must necessarily penetrate special reference to abuckle adapted to be adthe material of the strap in order to hold the justablyassociatedwith straps, bands,'and the strap in various positions of adjustment, the ike the Support arm other Objects prongs are comparatively sharp. In ordinary on-ftheperson. 7 use, in the usual type of buckle, these relatively More particularly, this invention relates to a sharp prongs are liable to cause injury to the "of the first member'including a pair of prongs against the cross bar and may be permitted to c oss ba r ock e d o e p gs The present invention satisfactorily overcomes v thereagainst to prevent casual relative movement the above objections in providing an effective lock ofgthe members. to prevent loss in the laundering of the garment Itis contemplatedby the present invention to or during disuse of the garment by the wearer,

f ts p rt l ly n h per on. H wever, any portion of an object with which the buckle in'rthedrawing and in the following description might come in contact. the buckle will be shown and described in con- One of the objects of the present invention is operating members of the buckle in a desired simple and eflicient in operation, and is durable.

ijlwith straps and thatthis invention therefore. is to prevent loss in laundering or in disuse of the 53 and ease of operation in threading the strap thereof are releasably enclosed to prevent injury strap is threaded through the cooperating membuckle contacts. bers the end of the strap hangs. straight'down Other objects and advantages will hereinafter and behind thebib of the overall to avoid an be more particularly pointed out and fora more .gyunsightly appearance and to prevent accidents complete understanding of the characteristic 40 loosely.

It is further ontemp a by the present gether with the accompanying drawing, in which vention to lock the ends of theprongs against t .5 the cross bar and in so looking the ends oi'the Figure a front elevational View of a buckle Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of oneof the members of the buckle incorporating 22332;; 223 52221235ggf g gfii ziggg ggig the features of this invention, showing an initial manually released in the manner. hereafter destag}? F manufacture thfareofi to scribed. Overalls are washed in commercial 3 enlfiuged Sectlonal VleW taken on .55

laundries and it is highly desirable that it be the lme 3- of unnecessary to remove the buckles for this pur- 4 is a View Similar to 3 0f e uckle pose; and also, sincethebuckles arenotremoved; completed Stat Of m f u and that they be locked in a manner so as not to beg Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevational view of the (iWconiddstin-the process oflaundering. buckle shown in Fig. 1with thestrap omitted to therefrom, and showing a dotted changed position of the prongs thereof.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the buckle of this invention comprises a member In having a cross bar H, and a pair of arms l2 and I3 having pivot loops l4 and H5, respectively. The member ID is preferably formed from a single piece of round wire initially of uniform diameter and subsequently preferably flattened in portions to obtain a desired rigidity and pleasing appearance. An intermediate portion of the wire strip forms the cross bar H and the ends are bent at right angles thereto and inwardly toward each other in a spaced relation with the cross bar H to form a substantially rectangular slot IS, the extreme ends being bent again at right angles outwardly and into the loops Hi and IS.

A second member I1 is pivotally mounted in the member H in the loops l4 and I5, the second member preferably being formed of a single continuous piece of round wire of smaller diameter than the diameter of the wire of the first member H). An intermediate portion of the wire is formed into a button-receiving loop ill, the entrance to the loop being of lesser width than the diameter of the loop to prevent accidental disengagement of the button from the button-receiving loop.

Portions of the wire adjacent to the loop I8 are bent in a direction away from each other and are thereafter directed inwardly toward each other to form loops IS, the width between the loops being sufficiently wide to permit the entrance of a strap 30. Portions 2i) and 2! of the wire of the member I! extending from the loops it are formed substantially parallel with the cross bar H to be received in the loops l4 and i5 respectively, these portions 2!! and 2| being slidable in the loops in the direction of the axes thereof.

Prongs 22 and 23 are preferably formed integrally with and extend substantially at right angles to the portions 20 and 2| respectively of the member H in a direction toward the cross bar ii, the ends of the prongs being movable between a position against and a position spaced from the cross bar H as the members l0 and H are pivoted relatively. Since the prongs 22 and 23 must ordinarily penetrate through the material of the strap, belt, or the like, that is, where openings are not provided in the straps, it is desirable for these prongs to be pointed and sharp.

In order to lock the ends of the prongs 22 and 23 against the cross bar H to prevent casual relative movement of the members is and I1 and to guard against accidental misuse of the sharp prongs, the cross bar H is provided with a locking means for releasably enclosing the pointed ends of the prongs. Such locking means are shown in the drawing as cars 24 and 25 whichare preferably formed integrally with or are otherwise secured to the cross bar ll.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2 of the drawing, the cross bar H is shown as being flattened at the portions 26 and 21 with the material thereof being displaced to provide a seat against which the prongs rest in a normal position of use. Portions of the material of the cross bar ll adjacent the seats 26 and 21 are further flattened to form the ears 2 3 and 25 which are preferably substantially narrower than the width of the seats 26 and 2'! which, when the ears are bent over, present pockets, the ears extending in a spaced substantially parallel relation with the flattened portions or seats 26 and 21. width of the ears, being narrower than the seats, forms notches 28 and 29 for permitting entry of the prongs into the pockets beneath the ears, the thickness of the normal cross section of the cross bar H being preferably substantially as great as the overall cross section at the ears.

The illustration of Fig. 5 in full lines shows the prongs 22 and 23 locked in position against the cross bar H by the ears 24 and 25 which are preferably formed integrally therewith. When it is desired to release the prongs from their locked position, loop portions IQ of the frame I! are urged in a direction of movement toward each other so that the ends of the prongs may be aligned with the notches 28 and 29 adjacent the ears 24 and 25 as shown in dotted lines, and. the member Il may thereafter be pivoted in the lops l4 and is so that the prongs may be moved to a position spaced from the cross bar. This movement of the prongs is permissible by reason of the member I! being resilient, the frame being made of comparatively light wire having a substantially wide loop for receiving the button of the bib of the overall.

The strap 30 of an overall may be inserted through the opening l6 when the prongs are spaced from the cross bar H, whereafter the prongs pierce the shoulder strap and the end of the strap is directed through the second member between the loops i9 therein to fall downwardly behind the bib 3! of the overall. After the strap has been pierced by the prongs the member I1 is pivoted in a direction such that the prongs move toward the cross bar. During this movement the loop portions IQ of the member ll are moved toward each other in the direction of the axes of the loops so that the prongs 22 and 23 are in alignment respectively with the notches 28 and 29 opening into the pockets formed by the ears 24 and 25.

The movement of the prongs 22 and 23 inwardly toward each other may be limited so as to predetermine the position of the prongs with respect to the notches by means of angular bends 32 and 33 adjacent the portions 20 and 21 respectively of the member ll. After the ends of the prongs 22 and 23 are received in the notches, pressure is released from the loops l9 and the prongs return to an initial normal position of use by reason of the resiliency of the member [1.

While but a single embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described, it is to be understood that various modifications thereof may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention and therefore the same is only to be limited by the scope of the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a buckle, a member comprising a cross bar connected between a pair of arms, a second member movably mounted on the arms of said first member and including a pair of prongs movable between a position against and a position spaced from said cross bar as the members are moved relatively, and means on said cross bar for locking the ends of said prongs thereagainst to prevent casual relative movement of said members, said locking means having an overall thickness not exceeding the thickness of said cross bar.

2. In a buckle, a member comprising a cross The- said cross bar to form pockets for releasably enmounted on the arms of said first member and closing the ends of said prongs thereagainst to of said members i locking means having an closing the ends of said prongs to prevent casual overall thickness not exceeding the thickness of relative movement Said members and to u d having flattened portions and a pair of arms havand a position spaced from said cross bar as the ing pivot loops, asecond member pivotally mountmembers are pivoted relatively, and m ans on ed on said first member in said loops and i l dsaid cross bar for locking the ends of said prongs bers are pivoted relatively, and ears formed inare aligned by a movement thereof toward each tegrally and extending in a spaced substantially other. parallel relation with the flattened portions of ROY S. SANFORD. 

